Requested Story - HGLM
by WildBubblesRoam
Summary: The war has ended and Hermione returns to Hogwarts to finish her final year of classes. But with a certain blonde wizard filling in as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, things will be much different this time around than any of her previous years. -This story idea was requested by tumblr user draconis-willow- Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Request - Hermione/Lucius at Hogwarts after War

Chapter One

She was excited and nervous all at once. With the war over and Voldemort finally destroyed permanently, they could all move on with their lives and start fresh. Harry had joined the Ministry working as head Auror, while Ron chased his dream of becoming a reporter for the Quidditch column of the Daily Prophet. They were all living their dreams, all except Hermione.

When the war ended, she tried approaching Headmistress McGonagall about a teaching position. She had always dreamed of going back to Hogwarts to help mold the young minds of the future, but after their first meeting, she quickly released that her dream would have to be postponed. As McGonagall had put it, Harry was granted his job with the Ministry because he had exceptional transferable experience. Meaning, defeating the worst dark wizard to taint the wizarding world had been education enough for him. Ron on the other hand gained his job from word of mouth. Apparently having a father who worked with the Ministry for years, and then a best friend head Auror, made landing the Daily Prophet job a breeze.

But when Hermione asked McGonagall for a teaching position, she was shot down. "I admire your ambitions, Miss Granger, but taking on the task of teaching when you yourself have not finished your schooling is irresponsible on my part and dishonest on yours. Suppose a student approaches you one day and informs you that he'd like to drop out of his classes and skip his exams. How, in good conscience can you tell that student to continue when you yourself have not yet completed your schooling?"

It was disappointing to say the least, but as she went back to the Burrow and told the Weasleys and Harry of what happened, they encouraged her to pursue her goals and to never give up on anything she wanted. They told her, just as Headmistress McGonagall had done, to return to Hogwarts for her final year and finish her education. Only then, would she be accepted as a Professor.

She was nervous as she sat on the train, without Harry and without Ron to keep her company. She was still anxious as she walked into the enormous old castle, freshly repaired and restored of the damage it had sustained during the last leg of the war. It was only when she saw a familiar face walking into the castle just a few paces ahead of her that she finally began to relax. "Neville! Hey, Neville!" She called out cheerfully.

His head whipped from side to side before looking behind him to see her. He slowed his pace, letting a few people pass him, and gave her a brief hug. "Hermione! What are you doing here? I was so worried that I wouldn't know anyone this year."

"That's silly. Everyone knows you. You helped defeat the Dark Lord. Without you, who knows what would have happened." Hermione explained, trying to soften his anxiety and push forward that confidence that she knew he must have gained during the last year of the war. "Professor McGonagall insists that I finish my classes and exams before she'll let me teach." She sounded annoyed, but the initial shock of the whole situation had already worn off weeks ago. Now, it was more or less just an annoyance.

Neville groaned right along with her. "Me too. I even tried to get Professor Sprout to give me a really good reference, but Professor McGonagall said that my grades were so poor during my final year that even if I had finished and done my exams, it wouldn't have been any use."

"That's ridiculous." Hermione shook her head in protest.

"I know, but that's okay. I didn't really enjoy my last year- no one did. So I'm glad to be back. I'll get the chance to sort of re-do it. Make it right this time, you know?" Neville shrugged. At least he was still optimistic. Hermione hadn't quite gotten to that stage yet, but as they entered the Great Hall and saw the floating sky ceiling, the incredibly long wooden tables, and heard the familiar chatter of excited students, she couldn't help but smile. "Look! Look!" Neville exclaimed, pointing at the Ravenclaw table just as someone stood up and began waving happily at them.

"Is that…?" Hermione began, equally as surprised.

"Yeah! It's Luna!" He seemed so happy as they quickly maneuvered their way through the crowd of students flooding into the hall, meeting her between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. Hugs were exchanged all around and just as they were beginning to catch up, explaining what they had done after the war and over the past summer, another friendly face popped into view right beside Hermione.

"Dean!" She called out loudly, not expecting to see yet another old classmate. "What are you guys do-?" She began to ask both Luna and Dean but before she could even finish, they both answered in unison.

"McGonagall!" They all laughed and though it couldn't be heard, Hermione knew that each and every one of them let out a sigh of relief that they weren't the only ones having to return to Hogwarts for their final year.

"Silence! Silence please!" As if right on cue, a voice rang out throughout the crowd from the front of the room. Standing at the podium where they had always seen Professor Dumbledore, was the current Headmistress, Professor McGonagall. "If you can all find your seats. Quickly, please. We'd like to begin sorting." Hermione smiled and as she looked across the hall at the Ravencalw table, she saw that Luna couldn't hide her happiness either. Neville and Dean were quietly chatting beside her and as Professor McGonagall began to call the first years up to the front of the room, her eyes started to wander.

The four house tables were packed with cheery faces, most of them facing forwards to watch the sorting ceremony. _'They all look so little,'_ Hermione thought as she watched a few of the first years march up to the old rickety stool and sit beneath the even older talking hat. As the hat started to sort students into their appropriate houses, Hermione's eyes trailed just past them, up past McGonagall, and found her way up to the teacher's table. Hagrid spotted her immediately and waved quietly at her. She smiled and waved back, making a mental note to go visit him as soon as she got settled in. She continued to scan over the table. Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, and even Professor Trelawney, who Hermione wasn't quite as happy to see. Divinations had always been a sore spot for her, but she was glad to see the old witch had survived the war unlike so many others.

She moved further down the table, happy to see that so many of the former Professors had remained at Hogwarts. But the joy she felt was short lived. Her eyes shifted down one more seat and stopped. The long platinum blonde hair and crisp, brand new robes stuck out like a sore thumb as he tried to blend in with the rest of the witches and wizards up at the table. Hermione leaned sideways, jabbing Neville in the arm sharply. "What's **he** doing here?"

"Who?" Neville asked, rubbing at the now-sore spot on his arm as he tried to follow her gaze until he spotted who she was looking at. "Oh, Malfoy. I know, it's a joke, isn't it? I didn't think they were serious when I first heard he'd be teaching this year."

Hermione must have somehow missed that information when she was preparing for her year at the ancient school. "_Teaching?_" Hermione hissed. "Don't tell me. Defense against the Dark Arts?" Neville nodded silently and Hermione groaned. "This can't be happening. McGonagall couldn't have possibly agreed to this."

"Well, I don't suppose she had a choice really." Neville shrugged. "When the Malfoys were cleared of their charges, Draco and his father were ordered to perform community services. The Ministry must have thought with all of his _experience_ with the dark arts, that he would be perfect for the job. I think the only reason Professor McGonagall agreed was because he'll only be here for a year. Once his year of service is over, I bet he'll run out of here as fast as he can."

Lucius Malfoy sat amongst the other professors, looking as bored as ever. His eyes glanced over at the children being sorted and every time a new Gryffindor was selected, no one could miss the overdramatic rolling of his eyes. It was obvious his preference was, of course, for his own house- Slytherin. With Snape gone and no one else quite as eager to take the reigns, Malfoy became head of the Slytherin house. It suited him well enough, or at least it stroked his ego enough to keep him content in his current position.

Growing tired enough of seeing countless students being sorted into Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, his eyes traveled down past the sorting hat and began roaming over the house tables. The students seemed just as bored as he was- the older ones at least. They had all seen the sorting many times before and although it was always nice to see which first years would be joining their own houses, the long line of students that still needed sorting meant a rather long ceremony. He spotted more than a few students peering up at him from their seats, perhaps wondering what an old death eater like him could possibly be doing at their pristine school. He smirked at the thought and cast his eyes down the Gryffindor table. Cheery faces and mischievous looks could be seen down the whole length and Lucius wondered just how many of them he would catch this year sneaking out of their dorms after dark. Surely there must have been at least a few obnoxious Potters mixed in amongst them.

He was just about to glance over at the Ravenclaw table to examine them with just as much scrutiny when a familiar face caught his eye. Long brown curls and wide eyes to match, the girl was staring at him. He searched his mind for her name. _'What did Draco always call her? Aside from mudblood, know-it-all, and a few other unsavory choices.'_ He thought, watching her as she blatantly watched his every move. _'Granger.'_ The name finally came to him, only to be interrupted by his own.

"Professor Malfoy," The Headmistress spoke from her podium. The sorting must have concluded as she was beginning her customary start of term speech. "Please, stand, if you will." She urged, waving upwards towards him until he got to his feet. "Professor Lucius Malfoy will be kind enough to spend the year with us as instructor in the defense against the dark arts. If you'll all please welcome him to our lovely school." She began to clap graciously, as she always was, but it became quickly evident that only the Slytherin table and a few unknowing first years joined in with her less than warm welcome. Unfazed by the unsuccessful introduction, Malfoy returned to his seat.

His eyes glanced back over the student tables, lingering on Gryffindor in particular. She was still watching him, despite Professor McGonagall moving on to announce the new Potions and Muggle Studies professors. Her eyes wouldn't leave him and if only to spite her, his wouldn't leave hers. His smoky grays met her chocolate browns and as they both held onto their silent stares while McGonagall dragged on, he couldn't help but feel the corners of his mouth turn upwards into a satisfied smirk. She was the first to lose her nerve then. The smile had done it, he was certain, but as the evening went on and dinner came and went, he couldn't help but find himself glancing over at her seat just to see if she happened to be watching him as well.

She was.

The following morning, classes began and it was as if she never left. The fresh smell of her new textbooks mixed with the old musty smell of the books she had borrowed from the library made her excited enough, but then there were her classes to look forward to. Potions and Charms went smoothly, as expected, and so did Herbology and Muggle Studies. Transfiguration was a bit odd, considering the headmistress had decided to also continue teaching her most favorite subject along with keeping her duties at running the school, but all in all, it had been a good day. With only one class remaining before she could escape to the library or the dormitories, Hermione was dragging her feet to Malfoy's class.

Ever since their silent exchange in the Great Hall, she couldn't seem to shake him from her mind. He had been staring at her, and sure, she was staring right back at him, but so was everyone else. Perhaps she had been looking at him longer than the rest of them, but they were still just as curious as she was. And yet he focused in on her, watching her as she ate her dinner and talked with her friends. But if she hadn't been doing the same to him, watching him off and on all night, then how else would she have known he was so fixed on her?

She brushed the thoughts from her mind. If she was going to make it out of his class with her sanity intact, she couldn't afford to put any extra thought into him, especially before the class even started. Making her way into the room, Hermione choose a seat and waited for the other students to finish filing in. Once all the seats were filled and the chatter began to die down, she saw him enter. His long blonde hair was pulled back and fastened neatly at the base of his skull with a rather masculine black ribbon. He didn't seem to acknowledge that the room was filled with students, not until he reached the front of the class. He spun around when he reached his desk and scanned over the room. Quicker than she had hoped, he spotted her, lingering on her slightly longer than necessary, before looking away to begin his introductions. "My name is Professor Malfoy and before we begin, I'd like to address a bit of gossip that I'm certain has been floating through these castle walls since you all arrived. Despite my current good standing within the community and my pledged allegiance with the Ministry, my past is still my past and that can not be changed." He paused and dragged in a heavy breath. "I was what was known at the time as a '_death eater,'_" He brought his hands up to make little quotation marks in the air and continued. _"_I have experienced and witnessed many of the Dark Arts, some first hand and some not so closely. With this experience, the Ministry has agreed that this leaves me with a unique enough resume to allow me the privilege of teaching at one of the most highly esteemed schools of witchcraft and wizardry- Hogwarts."

Hermione had to control herself, nearly rolling her eyes with his last statement. During her previous years at Hogwarts, Draco claimed that his father considered pulling him out from under Dumbledore's schooling numerous times, attacking Hogwarts in particular for its less than adequate demographic profile. Not enough purebloods and far too many mixes and mutts for his taste, as Draco had so elegantly phrased it in the past. Hermione was surprised Lucius hadn't followed through and sent Draco to Drumstrang instead.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, does anyone have any questions?" Malfoy asked, cocking an eyebrow upwards sharply as he glanced around the room. His eyes fell on her again and Hermione felt herself squirm in her seat. As horrible as she had always thought of him over the years, there was something about those smoldering blue-gray eyes that made it hard to look away. "Anyone?" He repeated, eyes still fixed on the brainy brunette, expecting her hand to fly up high in the air like Draco had always told him she was known for doing. _'Little miss know-it-all doesn't have anything to say?'_ He thought, amused. _'What a shame._'

With both the ex-death eater and the young Order member still locked in what seemed to be an odd staring contest, neither of them expected it when a random student off to the left side of the room called out loudly, "Can we see the mark?" Malfoy broke their connection this time, glaring over at the tall, lanky Gryffindor who had asked the question. The student sitting next to him had jabbed him in the arm and was now scolding him under his breath for asking such a stupid question. Hermione could have sworn she heard the word 'death eater' somewhere within the whispers, though she wasn't sure where exactly it had come from. The rest of the class had begun speaking softly, whispering back and forth like a bunch of excited little first years.

"The Mark?" Malfoy asked, playing dumb with a knowing smirk plastered on his face. They knew that he knew, but he was messing with the poor boy, forcing him to say what he truly wanted. Hermione's brows creased as she watched the exchange. He was acting different than during the war. He didn't seem as wound up as he did back then. If she didn't know his past, his reputation within Voldemort's ranks, and what he was capable of, she could almost say he was behaving playfully with his students. It was surprising to say the least.

"Yeah!" The boy answered, pushing his friend off of him as he fully committed to his request. "The Dark Mark."

"Ah," the novice Professor exclaimed, nodding his head slowly as if the boy's request had finally become clear. "You mean, _his_ mark." Malfoy replied and the student who had asked agreed with an eager nod, leaning closer to the front of the room in anticipation. A few other students in the back of the room did the same, while those in the front row sat stiff as boards. "I have to warn you, it's not in the best of shapes at the moment. You see, once the Dark Lord was defeated, his marks that were left behind began to change. Without his presence and his magic to keep the marks active, they begin to reject from the bodies they were attached to." He left the front of the room and started pacing slowly up and down the aisles between the desks. "Much like a cut that's left to heal on its own. It gets worse before it gets better, and this is the case with the Dark Marks, particularly older ones. The longer the Marks are present on the body, the deeper its roots are able to settle, which makes the rejection process all the harder."

He stopped talking and glanced around the room. No one was writing. Nearly none of the students even had parchment or quills out on their desks, let alone ready to use. He smirked and sarcastically stated, "Don't worry, I doubt the topic of Dark Mark rejection will be on your O.W.L.s." When he finished walking down the final row of desks and returned to the front of the room, his hand went to the sleeve of his other arm and began unbuttoning the cufflinks at his wrist. The students were getting anxious, he could tell. All but one, and although he would never admit it, it irked him that he couldn't get a rise out of her as easily as the others. His hand paused on the sleeve, stopping before he could undo the second button. "Miss Granger." His voice carried through the crowded classroom, echoing off the high ceilings until it reached her loud and clear. If he couldn't get her attention one way, he could always get it another. "Perhaps you could be so kind as to explain to the class the purpose of the Dark Mark."

Hermione looked around the room as all the students around her shifted in their seats to listen to her answer. She glared back at Malfoy, certain he had called on her in particular just to get under her skin, and it was working. Though momentarily flustered by his unexpected question, Hermione regained her composure and explained. "Along with being a sign of loyalty, it was also used as a form of communication. Voldemort could use it to summon his followers, but those who bore it on their arm could also use it as a means to signal Voldemort himself." As she spoke, he walked back up the aisles, listening to her answer until he was standing right beside her desk, peering down at her. "It was burned into the wearers forearm, like a muggle branding, but with very strong magic instead of a branding iron." She finished, staring up at him as he remained beside her.

Lucius smirked, pleased that she agreed to answer him. At first, he wasn't sure if she would, but she couldn't possibly risk her grades just to spite him, as badly as she wanted to. It just wasn't in her to refuse a shot at answering a question when she knew the answer. When she finished speaking, she thought he would turn and walk back to the front of the room like he had done before, but he lingered beside her for an extra few seconds. The curve of his lips as he looked her over made her squirm but it wasn't until she heard him praise her softly, just above a whisper, that she felt herself truly react. "_Good girl_," He mouthed down to her, holding her eyes with his for a moment longer before heading back up towards his desk. "Thank you, Miss Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor." He announced coolly and her classmates all gave proud outbursts of congratulations and triumphant grins at one another. Hermione, on the other hand, sat still as could be at her desk, trying to decide whether she had heard his hushed words correctly or if she had imagined it.

But why would she have imagined it? _'Sure, his eyes are gorgeous and his hair is everything mine could never be, but he's still Lucius Bloody Malfoy! Snap yourself out of it, Hermione girl! Maybe I'm tired. That's it. I just need to get some proper rest and then I'll get back to my senses.'_ Hermione gave herself the little pep talk that she was sure she needed. Fancying someone like Malfoy? Now **that** would be crazy!

The blonde Professor unbuttoned the final button of his sleeve's cuff and rolled the fabric up onto itself until his bare forearm was exposed for everyone to see. He wasn't exaggerating. The previously crisp, dark lines of the skull and snakes had somehow began to fade and blur. The skin looked angry red, like an infected wound, but they could still make out the general shape of the skull and the snakes intertwining throughout it. A few of the girls in the front row covered their mouths to silence their yelps of surprise and disgust, while the majority of the boys leaned in closer to examine his arm. "Does it hurt?" Someone called out from the right side of the room.

"Not anymore, though I need to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't become infected while it goes through the rejection process. Madame Pomfrey has been helpful enough to keep me well stocked with enough tonics and healing potions to keep an infection safely away for the time being. It helps with the itching as well." He answered, turning his arm slowly first to the left and then to the right so that everyone could easily see the full range of the Mark.

"What did it feel like before?" Another student asked, either too nervous or too scared to add any more details to her question than she did.

Lucius glanced at her and asked, "Before? Before the war ended?" The student nodded. Yes, that was much better phrasing than _'Before your bat-shit-crazy Dark Lord got killed by the Boy Who Lived!_' Malfoy looked down at his disfigured arm. "It burned. That's the easiest way to explain the sensation. If I tried to ignore it, it would burn more, and more, until it felt like my arm was ablaze. It was specifically designed this way, to encourage followers to come as soon as possible when summoned. It was fairly effectively and incredibly hard to resist."

"Is it permanent?"

"What happens if it gets infected?"

"Have you ever tried removing it?"

The students began asking more and more questions as the atmosphere of the room softened and livened up. Nearly everyone in the room expected Malfoy to be a dreadful teacher, horribly cruel by nature, and expected him to criticize and mock any student who spoke out of turn or got an answer wrong. But to all their surprise, his class seemed to be the most exciting of the day. Although Transfiguration came in at a close second when Neville accidentally turned his textbook into a partially transfigured spider. The only spider bits that sprouted out of the heavy book were its eight long legs and its furry head, fit properly with large fangs that snapped at anyone who got too close. It ran a muck around the room for several minutes, terrorizing everyone it passed until a pair of students were able to corner it so that Professor McGonagall could transfigure it back to a harmless textbook.

"He's actually kind of fit, don't you think?" Hermione overheard a pair of girls behind her as Malfoy walked around to a few different students who had requested to touch the patch of rough, branded skin.

"Yeah, and those eyes!" The other girl agreed giddily. "I swear, I caught him looking at me for the longest time before class started." The girl confessed, earning an equally stupid giggle from her friend.

Hermione couldn't stomach to listen to any more of their ogling. _'And for the record, he was staring at me before class started…not you, you silly ditz.'_ Hermione thought quickly and before she could stop herself, she turned around and confronted the two schoolgirls. "I seriously doubt he was 'looking at you.'" Hermione repeated the girl's statement, rolling her eyes on the last few words. "He's married and has a son who's older than you. The last thing he wants is some underage witch."

Her words may have come out slightly harsher than she meant them to, but her emotions were growing wild for some reason. The girls looked offended, especially the one who had thought he was looking at her. She crossed her arms over her chest, resting them on the desk in front of her, and glowered back at Hermione. "How would you know? You've always got your head buried in books. You wouldn't know that guy was interested in you unless he wrote it down for you to read."

The pair of defensive schoolgirls giggled together again before the other one added, "Yeah, besides, he's not even married anymore. So that shows how much you know."

Hermione's brows pressed downwards together as the girl's words sank in. "What do you mean? Of course he's married. I've met his wife myself." She argued her point even further, ignoring the fact that her '_meeting_' with Narcissa was actually only seeing her for a few minutes while Harry, Hermione, and Ron were being held captive in Malfoy Manor. But that was close enough for the sake of the argument.

The second girl shook her head with an obnoxiously stubborn look on her face. "She left him last year."

"No, I heard he left her." The first girl broke in, correcting her friend. They couldn't seem to decide who left who but Hermione had heard enough. Evidently, somehow, they had split up, ending their marriage, and now, as much as Hermione hated to admit, the two knuckleheads behind her were right. He was single.

Just as their conversation was coming to a close, Malfoy was making his way down their aisle, heading for their desks. His sleeve was still rolled up and as he passed each desk, the students ran a finger over his mark or poked at it nervously before pulling their hand back quickly, expecting Voldemort to somehow appear out of thin air right there in the classroom. He approached the two girls behind Hermione and offered his arm. "Ladies? Care for a feel?"

They giggled, as Hermione guessed they would, and both ran their fingers over the scarred skin. "It's so firm." One of them commented and Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes at their pathetic swooning.

He must not have given them the reaction they were hoping for because Hermione heard one of them sigh quietly right before she saw him step up beside her desk. He lowered his arm, keeping his sleeve pulled up, and looked down at her. "I'm assuming you'd rather not participate?"

Hermione scowled at him and shook her head, but before he could leave her desk to walk back up to the front of the room, she stopped him, remarking, "And if you're trying not to get it infected, perhaps you shouldn't let so many people touch it. You never know where their hands have been." If she had been a crueler person, she might have turned around and shot the two girls a look as she said the last part, but she knew already that they could hear her and that was enough for the time being.

Lucius however, wasn't quite as controlled. He got her meaning immediately, glancing quickly behind her at the two girls, before smirking back at Hermione with a light chuckle. "Thank you for the advice, Miss Granger. The next time I need assistance with my mark, rest assured you'll be the first person I come to."

He walked back up to the front of the room and Hermione heard one of the girls behind her ask the other quietly, "What do you suppose he meant by that?"

"I don't know. Shut up. He's about to talk." Both girls fell silent and as Malfoy started to speak, the rest of the students quieted down as well.

"Well, I believe we've run out of time for today. Read chapters one through three in your text books for next time and be prepared to answer any questions about those sections. Class dismissed." The room erupted with the sound of chairs dragging against the floor and books and supplies being packed away into bags or tucked under arms. Hermione stood and collected her items off the desk slowly, letting the girls behind her leave their desks first so that she wouldn't have to listen to any more of their opinions about their new blonde professor while they all flooded out of the room. She was just about to head for the door when she heard her name called from the front of the room. "Miss Granger. I'd like you to stay behind for a moment."

Her breath hitched in her throat as she tried to imagine why he would single her out, again, for the umpteenth time since the school year had started. She hadn't done anything. In fact, she cooperated and answered his bloody question even though he knew there were bound to be other students in the room perfectly capable of answering it. But no, he had chosen her, and now as the room was empty and it was just him and her, she couldn't help but feel an uncomfortable flutter in her stomach. She approached the front of the room with her books in hand. "You wanted to see me, _professor_?" She asked, striking the last word with as much sarcasm as she could muster.

He caught her meaning and scowled. "Miss Granger, I understand that you may find the current situation awkward and uncomfortable, with me as your Professor and you as my student, but I'd like to hope that any previous feelings we had towards each other are in the past."

"Are they? Your _feelings_ towards me- are those in the past?" She asked sharply. If by feelings he meant his unjustified, hate driven prejudice against her and her kind, then she would be nothing but willing to listen to his heartfelt apology, as unlikely as it was.

One of his eyes brows peaked upwards as he leaned back against the edge of his desk, examining her. "You're not a child anymore. You haven't been since the war ended, so don't pretend to be now by twisting my words around. That's not why I asked you to stay behind."

"Why did you then?" Hermione questioned. His metallic blue-grey eyes were piercing her, pinning her in place and no matter how much she wanted to squirm away, out of his view, she held her own just out of spite.

He paused, hesitating as she refused to look away from him. She was fiery, passionate, and as the years passed from the time she was last in Hogwarts up until now, that brilliant spark within her had ignited. Or perhaps it was him that brought it out in her. He couldn't tell for certain but he knew one thing. He liked it. His lips curled into as charming a smile as he could produce. "I wanted to clear the air and apologize. You've been glaring at me every time we're in the same room together and I have to admit, it's rather distracting."

"**Distracting?**" Hermione repeated loudly, shocked that he would accuse her of all people of such a thing. "_I'm_ the distracting one? You haven't left me alone since school started! Don't think I didn't notice you staring at me all throughout the sorting and then dinner. And now today, calling on me in class and making me answer your question. Yet _I'm_ the one distracting _you_?" She scoffed out a forced laugh as if to completely disregard his statement entirely.

Lucius took a less direct approach. "I assumed you enjoy answering questions in class. How was I to know that my class would be the single exception?"

"And the staring?" Hermione pressed him harder for an answer. He couldn't possibly have thought she would just let that part slip away, did he?

He shifted against the desk, finding the atmosphere less than comfortable as she drilled into him with her accusations, no matter how accurate they may have been. His eyes pulled at her, keeping her with him as he pushed himself up off the desk and took a step towards her. "I could ask the same of you, Miss Granger."

His body felt too close, to invading of her space, but when she tried to lift her legs to step backwards, they didn't respond as she wanted them to. Her stubbornness and her pride wouldn't let her step back, no matter that he was standing not even a full stride in front of her. She was going to leave, going to grab her books and march out of the classroom, until his brow cock upwards smugly and his notorious Malfoy smirk returned. "Am I wrong?" He asked, drawing his words out if only to keep her eyes on him for a moment longer.

The arrogance in his voice and the intensity in his stare was getting to her. She had to leave, as ungraceful as it was, but she needed to get out of the room so that she could start breathing properly again. "Ugh, you're absolutely ridiculous!" She groaned out quickly as she sidestepped out from between him and the students desk behind her. She needed air and with him so close to her, looking at her like _that_, breathing just wasn't an option.

She could have sworn she heard him chuckle as she brushed past him. "Don't forget, Miss Granger." He called out to her as she was leaving the room. "Chapters one through three by next class. You never know when another question might come your way." She kept walking, willing herself not to turn back around and give him what he wanted- even more attention than she had already given him. She had already given him of her time for one day.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Notes: Whew, long wait! Sorry about that. Got a little bit of writers block when work demanded a bit more of my attention than usual. But here's Chapter two! Hopefully it doesn't disappoint :) Let me know what you think in the reviews or elsewhere as I love reading each and every one of them! Enjoy!**_

* * *

Chapter Two

Dinner with her fellow Gryffindors, particularly the ones who were also repeating their final year, felt like a relief as soon as she stepped foot into the Great Hall. All classes for the day had ended hours ago and with the evening free to do with as she pleased, Hermione was intent on spending her meal socializing and then heading off to go study. It would be a good night, she was sure of it.

The food had been lovely, as always, and plentiful to a fault. They all ate to their fill before departing back to the dorms. Hermione however decided a good old fashioned evening in the library was in order. With the start of term leaving them with loads of reading material to go over before the following day's classes, and the excitement that everyone was still feeling from being back at Hogwarts, she knew that if she tried to study while in the dorms, nothing would get done.

The hours pasted by quickly and before she knew it, the library's large grandfather clock rang out and echoed through the rows of bookshelves and empty tables for studying. Most of the other students had left long ago, heading back to their dorms for the rest of the evening, but Hermione remained. She had finished the majority of her classwork for the day and with only a few materials left to read before tomorrow's classes, she decided that another hour or so in the library studying was in order. After all, she was of age and although the head mistress hadn't mentioned any rules in particular to her or her fellow returning classmates, surely the curfew set for younger students wouldn't apply to her. She flipped open her next book and began reading.

* * *

By ten o'clock, all of her work was done and with a long stretch and an even longer yawn, Hermione packed up her things and headed out of the library to return back to the Gryffindor common room. She shrunk her books and school supplies down minuscule size and tucked them away safely into her small handbag as she walked down the long corridors. The castle seemed different at night and although she had explored it plenty with Harry and Ron, while alone in the dark now, it seemed more alive than she had remembered. Further down the never-ending hallways, she could hear a few other students hurrying back to their dorms, no doubt hoping not to get caught by Filtch and his four-legged, furry companion in the process.

As she continued down the corridor, taking a quick right turn here and another left over there, her pace began to slow while her thoughts wandered elsewhere. At first she only thought of her classes, remembering how each one had gone and double checking in her head that she had finished all of the work that she was assigned. But as she took another turn down the next corridor, her focus quickly began to linger on _him_. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and no matter how many times she tried to change her topic of thought, her mind kept coming back to him. The smug expression that he wore so proudly every time she entered the room, and the way he had won over the class's respect and affections so easily despite his misguided past. She rolled her eyes as she recalled the way he spoke to her first during the class and then afterwards. The nerve of him to even assume that she was somehow interested in him. _'You're thinking about him now though, are you not? Perhaps he speaks the truth.'_ A sudden thought caught her off guard.

She paused in her steps and when she took the time to look around and see where her aimless wandering had gotten her, she had to admit that she wasn't entirely surprised when she saw the door to Professor Malfoy's classroom only a few paces down the hallway. It would be empty this time of night, no doubt even locked to keep students away, but as Hermione began to walk past it, her hand lifted and checked the knob on her way by. She would have kept walking, she _should_ have kept walking, but as she twisted the door knob lazily in passing, she felt it give away and push open with a small pop.

Hesitating as she quickly pulled her hand back away from the knob, Hermione carefully peered inside. It was dark, as she expected, and empty, also as she expected, but the door had most certainly been charmed in some way to ward off intruders. The tiny pop she had heard told her clear enough that the charm had been broken, but why or how, she wasn't sure. It could have been specifically designed to keep only certain people out, but then why would it have opened for her? She had no claim to the room, no business there, especially so late at night, and yet it still let her in without further effort. She drew in a slow, heavy breath and stepped inside.

The room was pristine, untouched outside of normal classroom wear and tear, but somehow the darkness made it seem even more tranquil than it actually was. She gravitated towards the tall bookshelf set towards the back of the room out of habit and general interest, thumbing her fingers over the spines of each book as she read over the titles. Surely they were free for student use, she insisted quietly as she slipped a book off the shelf and began flipping through the first few pages.

"Miss Granger." A deep, authoritative voice called to her from the front of the classroom, startling her into shutting the book nervously and shoving it back in its place on the shelf. She spun around and spotted him standing between a set of desks in the front row. He had been watching her, but from where? When she entered the room, she was sure it had been empty, yet there he stood in all his aristocratic, arrogant glory. "My, my. A Gryffindor caught out of bed after hours. Who would have thought it would be you of all people?" Hermione stepped away from the bookshelf and started walking down the row of desks towards the front of the room. "What brings you to my classroom of all places?"

He was wearing a smirk as he watched her approach. Of course she had assumed that she wouldn't get caught, especially not by Malfoy. She hadn't planned on anyone being in the classroom so when he questioned her motives, she drew a blank. "I don't know. I was heading back to the common room." She shrugged and tried to make it sound as believable as she could.

"Is that so?" Lucius asked curiously. "I suppose that would make for a good enough excuse, _if_ the Gryffindor common room was anywhere near my classroom." He took a step towards her and tilted his head down a hair to meet her gaze easier. His face softened as he shook his head slowly from side to side. "I think you and I both know that it's not." Hermione shifted her footing nervously as he called her bluff so bluntly. His eyes hadn't left her and as he watched her, his cheeks lifted in satisfaction every few words. She willed herself not to stare back like she had done in class hours ago. It would only provoke him further and leave him with the wrong impression, but her eyes kept flickering up away from his lips back up to his eyes, making him smile wider each and every time.

"Miss Granger, I'll ask you one more time." Lucius drawled, his voice suddenly dropping just above a whisper as he held her eyes to his possessively. She was hanging on his every word and that simple fact only aroused him even more. "What are you doing in _my_ classroom, after hours, all alone?" His words were suggestive all on their own but the way he said them so seductively made his meaning even clearer than was needed. Hermione began to answer but her reply was cut short before she could even start when Lucius slowly rocked his head from side to side again, his eyes boring into her like a lion's. Dangerous and powerful, but with too much intrigue and fire to look away. "And I don't want to hear you say, 'I don't know' again. You're too intelligent for that."

Hermione hesitated, trying to think of something to say, something _intelligent_ to say. Her mind slipped and changed course quickly, attempting to break his focus off of her. "The girls in class, the ones that sat behind me, they fancy you. Have you noticed?"

"I have." Lucius answered curtly, lifting his right eyebrow slightly higher than the left, as if suddenly bored by the topic.

"Well," Hermione started nervously. Her thoughts were rushing by so fast, she had trouble picking out the ones that she wanted to say. He was standing so closely that the musk of his subtle cologne was all that she could smell. She could sense the heat coming off of his body and spreading over the short distance between them to mix with hers. "Why don't you pursue them instead?" As strong and as confident as she had tried to make it sound, her voice wavered towards the end and her reluctance in what she was saying suddenly became much more visible than she had intended it to be.

He chuckled and drew himself closer to her, paying careful mind not to touch her as he leaned his palms down on the desks beside her, surrounding her with his arms. "I think you already know the answer to that, Miss Granger." He watched as she stood her ground, not stepping back away from him no matter how invasion of her space he was quickly becoming. It made him chuckle again with a pleased smirk. She wouldn't back down but neither would he. "Are you going to make me say it?" Lucius asked, perking an eyebrow upwards as he stared down at her provocatively. His chuckling had stopped as the seriousness in his tone returned. "I don't _want_ them, Miss Granger."

The way his gaze never left her and the presence of his body standing stiff and still directly in front of her was distracting. As much as she knew she should look away, step back and get away from her professor, her legs refused to move, just as stubborn as she knew they would be. Her confidence had returned, bringing with it the strength and Gryffindor spunk that she had always been known for. "What _do_ you want, Lucius?" She knew it was improper, calling a Professor by his first name, but something about their current situation completely rejected the idea that her customary student/teacher formalities were somehow still necessary.

Taken aback by her boldness, Lucius cocked an eyebrow upwards and took a small step back towards the front of the room. "I think I liked 'Sir' better." He grumbled his disapproval and turned around suddenly to round the edges of his desk. The soft leather of his oversized chair gave away a sound of stretching and shifting in place as he sat down smoothly. He began thumbing through a pile of papers sitting to his right, as if Hermione had already left the classroom. When she didn't make any attempt to move, his eyes flickered up towards her. "Don't you have schoolwork to do, Miss Granger? Perhaps you should hurry back to your housemates before they discover your absence."

* * *

The following morning came quickly, despite how long it took Hermione to finally calm the confused thoughts that lingered with her even after she returned to the common room. He had very clearly made his interest known. This man had purposefully teased and outright taunted her with his blatant flirting and attentions, but when she called him out on them and met him halfway, he recoiled back like a quivering little first year. Beyond the initial confusion and embarrassment that she was left feeling on her long walk back to the common room, it had enraged her. The war was over but obviously his prejudices were still solidly intact, otherwise why draw her in just to change his mind so abruptly later? It didn't make any sense and as Hermione walked down the hallways to her Transfiguration class with Luna, she asked the blonde little witch for her thoughts. "Luna, what do you think about men?"

The bouncy high-spirited Ravenclaw gave her question a few seconds of visual thought before tilting her head to the side slightly. "They're alright, I suppose. Useful at times. Why?"

"They're frustrating though, right? I mean, if they fancy you, you'd think they would just come right out and say it, wouldn't they?" Hermione frowned as she inquired further. Luna shrugged and gave her another short nod. "So then what do you suppose it means if a guy lets you know that he fancies you, but then doesn't do anything about it?"

Luna pressed her lips together as she analyzed the question and tried to sort out which answer would be best. "Maybe he's waiting for you to make the first move then." It seemed plausible and despite her lack of experience in the topic of men, the little Ravenclaw could at least offer some practical advice based on the facts alone.

Hermione shook her head and grumbled miserably, "No, that's not it. I've already made a fool out of myself trying that approach. That's definitely not it."

The two students, clad in their Hogwarts house jumpers and matching gray skirts continued on their way to their first class of the day. "Hmm," Luna mused. "Well, if you've tried that and he hasn't responded, maybe he's not as interested as you think." Hermione didn't like that answer either. If he wasn't interested in her, at least not in _that way_, then what was he up to? He was obviously paying extra attention to her in class and she couldn't have been imagining the way his voice dropped to a quieter, steamier tone when he had her alone. He was obviously looking for something but it was almost as if he was afraid of pursuing that interest any further than innocent flirting. It was driving her mad. "Who is it we're talking about anyway?" Luna asked sweetly as they passed through the doorway into Headmistress McGonagall's classroom.

Hermione shrugged, taking their seats and setting their books and supplies on the desk in front of them. "No one, Luna. It doesn't matter. He's not important."

* * *

Transfiguration class was uneventful, unlike yesterday's class. Potions was just as dull, though they did get to learn how to make a potion said to provide symptoms similar to a muggle energy drink, minus the jitteriness later on. That could prove to be useful once the workload right before her final exams became too overwhelming. She made a mental note to whip up a batch for exactly those sorts of occasions and trudged on to the rest of her classes. Muggle studies was a breeze though Hermione couldn't help but silently hide her jealousy every time the professor glanced in her direction. Muggle Studies was the subject she had sought to teaching once the war had ended and sitting in the classroom where she should have been teaching instead of learning was like a reminder of her dampened career plans.

Her last class was Defense against the Dark Arts and although she insisted that she honestly couldn't care less about seeing Malfoy so recently after their odd exchange last night, she couldn't bring herself to skip out on the class and risk her nearly perfect attendance. She slipped into the room and took a seat in the back, sinking down against the back of her chair and watched the rest of her classmates finish filing in. A few minutes passed and the casual chatter of the students continued, but her professor still hadn't appeared. By the five minute mark, the headmistress swept into the room and cleared her throat loudly, quieting the students almost immediately. "I regret to inform you that Professor Malfoy is feeling under the weather today and as such, feels he can not appropriately conduct this class. Please use this free time wisely, perhaps preoccupy yourselves with work from your other classes, and be prepared to continue your Defense against the Dark Arts education tomorrow."

The room erupted into even louder, excited conversations and exclamations of joy. The two girls Hermione had caught ogling over Malfoy during the previous class sighed and overdramatically stated that they hoped he was going to be okay. Hermione rolled her eyes and raised her hand, catching the headmistress's attention before she could go about warning a boy in the front row to stop shamelessly cheering. "Excuse me, Headmistress." Hermione called out amongst the mindless chatter. "Does this mean we can leave or will this be treated as a study period?" The absolute last thing Hermione wanted to do was spend any extra time with the two swooning girls, even if Lucius wasn't there to provoke their pathetic fangirling.

"You're all free to leave, however I would recommend you find productive ways to entertain yourselves. We all know what they say of idle minds." As if on cue, the entire class stood and started packing up their things, clearing out of the classroom as if it had suddenly lit on fire. Hermione hung back, picking up her supplies and books before walking up to the front of the class. "Miss Granger, a word if you don't mind." Professor McGonagall motioned towards her before she could reach the door.

Hermione nodded and obediently walked over. "Of course, Headmistress. Was something wrong?"

"Unfortunately, there is. As head of the Gryffindor house, I have the unpleasant task of handling disciplinary actions when it comes to students under my care." Hermione nodded again, though her eyes were telling the professor that she wasn't exactly following her meaning. "Miss Granger, when Professor Malfoy informed me this morning that he would be unable to instruct class today, he also made it known to me that you were out of bed, roaming the halls very late last night."

Hermione grit her teeth and tried to bite back her tongue. "Did he?" Was all she could let slip out before reeling the rest of her thoughts back behind her lips.

"Yes. Are you not denying this accusation then?" Professor McGonagall asked and bitterly, Hermione shook her head. How was she supposed to explain herself? It wasn't as though Lucius coaxed her out into the hallways late at night. He never asked her to sneak into his classroom after hours, no matter how his flirting had seemed. She frowned in distaste but accepted the responsibility like a Gryffindor should. The Headmistress continued solemnly. "Well then I suppose there's no argument pertaining to your punishment. I've scheduled your detention for tomorrow evening after dinner."

Though still displeased with the way Lucius had ratted her out, Hermione nodded again. "Should I meet you in your classroom or your office?"

"Oh, you won't be serving your detention with me, Miss Granger. I have too much on my plate already what with taking care of both the entire school as well as Transfigure lessons. You'll meet Professor Malfoy here and serve your detention under his instruction."

She sighed as the irony and disbelief hit her all at once. It almost made her laugh. _'Of course…I suppose it was completely his suggestion…how silly of me to think he could possibly be capable of giving me a moment's peace.'_ Again, Hermione nodded, less approvingly this time, and dragged herself out of the classroom with much less nerve than she had before.

* * *

The evening and following morning seemed to blur and speed by as her detention with Malfoy was the only thing she could think about. She had let his actions eat away at her all throughout her morning classes. It wasn't only the way he had flat out rejected her the previous night, but by him then telling McGonagall that she deserved a detention for running into him after hours, she was fuming as she reached his classroom and slipped silently into her seat at the back of the room.

A few more students made their way to their seats and just as the class began to quiet down to begin, Lucius walked into the room. He looked healthy and Hermione secretly spited him bitterly. _'Feeling under the weather? Yeah, bugger off. Bloody liar…'_ He started class by referring to the reading material they were meant to have read for the previous class. A few questions were passed around to different students about the material and as the topic was quickly covered and passed, they moved on to the next subject of discussion. Hermione had been cursing him so wildly in her head that it took her nearly all the way up until the end of class to realize he hadn't once called on her. The more she thought on it, she even noted that he seemed to be purposely avoiding her gaze. On the few rare occasions that his eyes did trail over to her spot in the back of the room, he smoothly shifted his sights onto a student next to her or in front of her and called on them as if he hadn't seen her at all.

It was bothersome, even more so than when he was paying extra unwarranted attention to her. She couldn't get him figured out and as she caught herself staring at him from the back of the room, the students around her suddenly began standing and preparing to leave the class. Startled, having not noticed the end of the lesson despite having her eyes glued to him the entire time, she hastily packed up her belongings and made for the exit at the front of the room.

"Miss Granger," his low drawl caught her and she thought of ignoring him. She could just as easily pretend she didn't hear him and continue on her way out of the room. He had spent the entire lesson ignoring her, so surely he wouldn't mind if she treated him with the same callousness. "Miss Granger," He called again, louder, and as much as she wanted to keep walking, a few students beside her tapped her on the arm to alert her to his requests.

She thanked them sarcastically through clenched teeth and swiveled back around, walking instead towards his desk. "Yes, _sir_?" Hermione asked with an obvious disinterest.

Lucius waited for the last of his students to exit the room before carefully walking over to the door. He pushed it closed gently and Hermione heard the familiar clicking of a locking charm. "I trust McGonagall informed you of tonight's arrangements?" He asked softly as his body turned back towards her. He was finally looking at her. After the entire length of the class, she finally felt his attention focused solely on her and despite the determination she was so sure she could hold onto, she felt the slight knot in her stomach and her fingers began fidgeting loosely down by her waist.

"She told me." Hermione answered stiffly as Lucius walked back towards his desk. She had been leaning against it but as he approached, she stood up and stepped away from it, wanting to distance herself from it so that he couldn't corner her. He noticed and suspected her mistrusting cautions towards him. It earned her a brief twitch of his eyebrows upwards, as if mocking some sort of feeling of offense, but Hermione could tell it was all for show. It was hard to effectively offend Lucius Malfoy when he held himself in such a high light. No one could touch him. She watched him circle around the desk and sit down in the large chair behind it before finally questioning him directly. "What are you up to, Malfoy?"

Again, Lucius expressed a false sense of hurt, draping his hand over his chest as if she had wounded him, before dropping it back down to the desk and staring blankly at her. "Now, is that really any way to address a professor, Miss Granger? Unless of course your goal is to earn another detention. In which case, that can be just as easily arranged." His smirk was digging into her as he obviously enjoyed the perks of his position a bit more than he should have.

Hermione stepped forward and pressed her palms down onto the desk's edge, bringing her presence in closer in an attempt of intimidation. It wasn't working. His smirk had only deepened, making Hermione recoil disappointedly. "So you want to play it like that?" She nodded and straightened up, lifting her hands off the desk and crossing them over her chest. "Good. We'll _play_ your game. But if you think you're going to win, then you're dead wrong."

Abandoning his act as the refined, proper professor he was supposed to be, Lucius gave her a cocky smile and pointed directly at her face. "You see that?" He asked and Hermione frowned as he rudely held his finger at her. "Your nose does this…thing," He started to explain, pinching his own nose with his fingertips to scrunch it up towards the bridge. "When you're angry." He lifted an eyebrow and the smirk returned. "Or maybe when you're feeling _intrigued_?"

Hermione bit back an irritated groan and rolled her eyes. "Are you really going to try this again?" She asked, ignoring the satisfied grin cutting across his face.

"And what am I trying?"

She had enough. Enough of his deception and teasing, enough of his mixed messages, and enough of that damned smirk that never seemed to leave him. She leaned back onto the desk and jabbed a finger at his chest. "**You** lost your nerve last night. I stuck my neck out there because you seemed like you were interested and then you shot me down. So don't try to pretend like you still want something from me now."

He didn't take kindly to her finger poking at him. Pinching it tightly between his index finger and thumb, he pulled her hand away from his chest and let it drop away from him as if picking off a piece of fabric lint from his robes. He stood from his seat and she followed his eyes up as they rose above her. "I never lose my nerve, Miss Granger. If I want something, _I take it_. Don't ever forget that." His voice had deepened as his eyes burned into her. His smirk had vanished and was instead replaced with the straight-faced, tight-lipped twist of a scowl.

Hermione didn't buy it for a second. She pressed her hands down onto the desk's surface and huffed out just as sourly, "Yeah, well you didn't do a whole lot of taking last night, did you? What's the matter, Lucius? Cold feet?" She forced out a mocking laugh and added, "You're all bark and no bite."

She was pushing him and no matter how cross he tried to appear, no matter how dangerous or death-eater-like he tried to seem to instill some sort of fear in the girl, she had seen straight through him and was calling him out on every single flaw. "As if you're one to judge. In case you're forgetting, you're the one who came to _my_ classroom last night. I never ordered you there." Lucius argued.

"And the wards on the door?" She asked curiously. "They let me in. I suppose you never meant to do that either then?" Malfoy's face paled. She had cornered him with that one and as he searched his mind for some other excuse, some plausible reason why he hadn't gone through with their intentions the previous night, he was left without options. "Admit it," Hermione spat out sharply. "_You're afraid_."

In a moment of sheer impulse, Lucius pressed himself forward against his side of the desk and closed the gap between them. His hands reached up to hold her in place as his lips found hers, rough and possessive. At first she reacted just as he expected. She pulled back and struck him, hard. His cheek stung but his hands were fast enough to stop the second struck before it could land. "Stop, stop!" He barked at her, grabbing her wrists again and again as they slipped out of his grasp. Holding onto one of her hands while still trying to reign in the other, he rounded the desk and pulled her into him, gripping her other wrist tightly and crossing his arms over her front as her back was pressed against him in an aggressive, restrictive sort of hug. "Stop! Stop…" His voice had softened as he repeated his commands and as he held her in place against him, his words dropped down to a whisper with his lips hovering beside her ear. Her body stilled and the longer he held her against him, the quicker the tenseness seemed to leave her. He felt her melt into him and when her head dropped down to lustfully brush her lips over the back of his hand, he felt his arms begin to loosen around her. "If I let you go, will you hit me again?"

Hermione carefully shook her head and answered softly, "No."

Lucius brought his mouth back down beside her head and pressed a firm kiss against her cheek. "Good girl." He slowly released his grip on her wrists and unpinned them from her body, letting her take back control of her fists.

His cheek had gained a gradually growing pink glow to it and Hermione suddenly felt ashamed that she had struck him. If she truly meant it, aiming to defend herself against an unwanted assault, that would have been a completely different story. But she couldn't lie to herself no matter how much easier it would have made their situation. She had enjoyed the kiss and although the struggle wasn't exactly planned out, the feeling of his strong body pressing against her so firmly had stirred her in a way she hadn't anticipated. She wanted to feel him against her again, around her, on top of her, and as she stared up into those icy steel eyes, she found herself smiling goofily. "Sorry…that I hit you." Her cheeks blushed with her apology. It wasn't every day that she found herself apologizing to a Malfoy.

With as much of a arrogant smug as she could stomach, Lucius leaned in towards her and presented his cheek. "I suppose the appropriate procedure would be to kiss it and make it better."

Hermione laughed and went in to give his cheek a quick peck. She had closed her eyes for the brief kiss but at the last moment, Lucius turned his head and caught her lips with his once more. His hands went back to the sides of her face, holding her in place as he did the first time, but with this kiss, the chance of another slap was slim to none. He met her lips briefly at first, pulling out of the kiss in order to keep it quick and sweet but after the third short point of affection, their kisses had become a bit more brazen. His thumbs caressed the softness of her cheeks and as if reacting to his tender touches, her lips parted and allowed him entrance. Just as she felt the tip of his tongue begin to explore and taste her, she pushed back and broke off their intimate connection. "What are we doing?" She breathed out quickly.

Wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his hand against the small of her back, Lucius recaptured her mouth again with just as much passion as they had left off with. Hermione felt his lips curl into a smile as he answered her complacently, "I'm kissing you, and you're enjoying it."

Hermione let out an amused chuckle before he kissed her again. His lips brushed against hers gently but the hand at the curve of her back pulled her closer towards him, guiding her to deepen the kiss. She did, drawing her palm up to the side of his neck and tickling at the base of his jaw line with her fingertips. His body started moving, walking her backwards until she felt the edge of the desk against the backs of her thighs, but he kept shifting closer. Easing her down, Lucius slipped his hand out from behind her back and let her lay flat on the desk as he positioned himself on top of her.

_ 'Oh gods…_' Hermione's mind raced as his hands that had been lingering around her waist and outlining the curves of her hips, gradually began shifting down to her thighs and over her stomach through her Hogwarts jumper. _'It's the middle of the afternoon! You're a student! He's a professor! What are you doing?_' Her thoughts shouted at her and she couldn't ignore them, no matter how badly her body wanted her to. "Lucius…" She finally spoke out as his lips left hers and began kissing and gentling sucking at the tenderness of her neck. He didn't stop, acting as if he hadn't even heard her. "Lucius, we need to stop."

"Mmm," He coo'ed against the skin of her neck, trailing his lips down to her shoulder and kissing delicately along her collarbone. "Is that what you really want, or are you just saying it because you think you should?" His words vibrated against her throat as he spoke and she wanted to reject her previous statement. She wanted to say no and beckon him to continue, to explore her body further and fulfill the ache in her lower reigns that she had been feeling ever since the beginning of his class hours ago. But she needed to regain her level head and as much as it pained her to do so, she urged him off of her with her palms against the strong weight of his chest.

"I'm your student. You're my Professor." She explained her concerns and pulled herself into an upright position on his desk. He rose off of her but kept his hands placed firmly against the heat of her inner thighs.

"My class has concluded for today. Your time as my student ended the second I dismissed class. Therefore your concerns are flawed." His thumb was rubbing against her skin again and as distracted as it was, she tried not to break the eye contact he had suddenly so intensely made with her. "Are you losing _your nerve_ now, Miss Granger?" He remarked as he took a step back away from the desk, dragging his hands off of her as if it were the hardest thing he ever had to do.

She sucked in a deep breath as his touch left her and slipped herself off the desk, placing her feet back on the floor in front of him. "If I'm late for dinner, someone will come looking for me." She stated flatly, a warning of sorts that although it was not her desire to stop, it was most certainly an intelligent decision for them both.

His hands found her hips, gripping them in an effort to remind her of exactly what she was saying no to. "If I take you to my chambers, no one will find you." He retorted, that same smug smirk plastered over his lips. She wanted to taste them again and feel his hot tongue on her flesh. His fingers refused to leave her waist, waiting patiently as he toyed lazily with the fabric of her school skirt.

_ 'He has a point…'_ Hermione found herself thinking as she leaned into him again, letting him graze a brief kiss along her jaw line, followed by another, and another until he was lingering up by her earlobe. _'No! Hermione, stand your ground! He all but embarrassed the heck out of you last time you were in this room together. Show him what it feels like and march right out of here!_' She closed her eyes for another few seconds, enjoying the feel of his heated mouth lavishing his attentions so affectionately against her neck. With a deep breath and as much self-control as she could gather up in a single moment, Hermione push her hands back on the smooth muscles of his chest and pushed him away. "I need to go." She stated sternly and gathered her books off a nearby desk. She was going to be late for dinner and after an exchange like that, he wasn't the only one who had been left thirsty for more.

* * *

_**ANs: Uh-Oh! Looks like we've got a little game of Cat and Mouse developing! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated as it lets me know how well/poorly the chapter turned out :) Plus I love hearing all your opinions and thoughts as the story progresses. Let me know what you think!**_

_**xoxo WildBubblesRoam**_


End file.
